Jonathan N Bush (born 1831)

In 1831, in the year that Jonathan N Bush was born, around July 15th, the volcanic island of Graham Island briefly emerged in the Mediterranean Sea. The island was discovered by Humphrey Fleming Senhouse, a British sea captain, on August 1st and claimed by the United Kingdom. The island still exists but is now once again underwater.

In 1865, on March 4th, President Abraham Lincoln was sworn in for a second term. A little over a month later, he would be assassinated by a Confederate sympathizer - 4 days after the surrender of Lee at Appomattox, which had effectively ended the Civil War.

In 1909, William Howard Taft became the 27th President of the United States on March 4th. Previously Secretary of War, Judge on the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, Solicitor General of the U.S., and Governor of both the Philippines and Cuba, Taft was the only President who went on to become Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

In 1926, on November 15th, NBC was founded. It was the U.S.'s first major broadcast network. Ownership of the network was split between RCA (a majority partner at 50%), its founding corporate parent General Electric (which owned 30%), and Westinghouse (which owned the remaining 20%).

In 1937, on May 6th, the German zeppelin the Hindenburg caught fire and blew up. The Hindenburg was a passenger ship traveling to Frankfurt Germany. It tried to dock in New Jersey, one of the stops, and something went wrong - it blew up. Thirty-six people were killed out of the 97 on board - 13 passengers, 22 crewmen, and one ground worker. The reasons for the explosion are still disputed.